Scarred but not broken
by VerityFrancesB
Summary: "I have scars," Mike says quietly, studying a crack on the counter top.  Harvey takes a breath and a step closer and Mike backs away.


Written for the suits_meme over at LJ, the prompt was "Mike has scars from the accident with his parents and is self conscious about them, cue Harvey trying to convince him he's gorgeous."

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><p>Mike's hands are urgent on his belt, tugging, and he lets out a small grunt as Harvey shoves him forcibly up against the wall outside Mike's apartment, arches upwards as Harvey presses his hands to his hips. Mike drags his mouth away, across Harvey's jaw, whispering "Harvey" insistently against his skin and Harvey groans runs his hands up Mike ribs and that's when it happens, like always.<p>

Mike pulls away, well this time he only stiffens and Harvey lets his head fall against his shoulder briefly before he lifts it to look at him. Mike's got a wide eyed fear on his face, but there's lust in his eyes as well and it just keeps throwing him for a curveball. Harvey runs a thumb along his cheekbone.

"What's wrong?" Mike shifts, slips out from between Harvey and the wall and digs into his pocket for his keys. His hand is shaking slightly as he unlocks the door and pushes it open.

"Nothing," he shrugs, "just...don't want to make out in my hallway," he turns and flashes a smile as Harvey. But its forced, doesn't quite reach his eyes and Harvey slams the door shut with his foot and pulls Mike close as he turns, looking surprised at the noise. Mike stiffens again, tries to pull away as Harvey presses his nose to the space below his ear.

"We're not in the hallway anymore kid," Harvey mutters and Mike pushes against his shoulders. Harvey sighs and lets him go.

"Do you want tea?" Mike asks, heading towards the kitchen and Harvey runs a hand through his hair.

"No I don't want tea, I want to know what the hell is going on," he says, leaning against the door frame to the kitchen. Mike grips his hands around the counter and swallows audibly.

They've been doing this for weeks now, and Mike was the one that had started it, kissing Harvey hard one night after a particularly long day then running out of the office like it was on fire. And its been that way since. Well Harvey's managed to get more from him, slow kisses, Mike's hand down his pants once, fingers wrapped around Harvey's dick, but every time Harvey tried to give back, to touch him more than just to grip at him arms or his face, Mike pulled away like a frightened rabbit.

"Nothing's going on," he says, pulling tea bags from a caddie and dumping them into mugs.

"Mike."

"It's fine Harvey," he protests and Harvey crosses his arms across his chest.

"Well it obviously not fine Mike, because every time I get close to actually touching you, you pull away, now tell me what's going on or I'm going home," Harvey says and Mike flinches. Its a risk using that as leverage, but Harvey's pretty certain Mike doesn't want him to leave right now. But Mike's hands grip tighter, his knuckles going whiter and he stares hopelessly at Harvey, opens his mouth once, before clamping it shut and shaking his head almost imperceptibly. "Ok then," Harvey says, pushing himself off the door frame and turning around.

"I have scars," Mike says quietly, studying a crack on the counter top. Harvey takes a breath and a step closer and Mike backs away.

"Me too..." say Harvey, rolling up his shirt sleeve, "one's from when I fell from a tree when I was 6, want to see?"

"I'm serious Harvey," Mike says crossing his arms, getting defensive, and Harvey reaches out and curls his fingers into Mike's belt.

"So am I," he says, tugging his closer and Mike comes, placing his hands on Harvey's chest, his fingers absently stroking the material of Harvey's shirt as he stares at his hand, still not looking at Harvey. Harvey can feel the tension in him.

"When my parents crashed," Mike says quietly and Harvey can remember when Mike first told him about that, drunk and slurring on Harvey's couch. Mike had only kissed him once at that point, but Harvey could already feel himself in danger of actually feeling something for the wounded kid on his couch, it kinda terrified him to begin with, the way Mike was the only one who could evoke that feeling of protectiveness in Harvey. And Harvey had hated the way Mike had sounded broken and hurt and Harvey had kissed him to stop the rush of emotions in him. Because it was then, after realising that Mike had been seriously injured that Harvey figured out he felt more for the kid than just the need to have him fall apart under his hands.

"Mike...you don't have..." Harvey starts and goes to pull away, to give him space, but Mike curls his fingers into his shirt, holds on like Harvey's a lifeline.

"No let me...just...just I need..." he shrugs his shoulder and Harvey gets it, he needs to be touching, "when my parents crashed, I was hurt, badly, and they had to cut me open to get my heart started again, my um...ribs were all broken so normal heart massage wouldn't have worked, and they had to cut me open," Mike pauses for breath, "they cut open my chest, Harvey," he finishes, like that explains everything, like Harvey's meant to say 'oh ok, you're ugly, I'll get my coat'.

"Right," Harvey says instead, hooking a finger under Mike's chin and forcing his head up. "And?" Mike lowers his gaze and Harvey moves his hand to his shirt, just resting his fingers over the buttons at Mike's throat and Mike stiffens again, bites on his bottom lip. Harvey undoes the first one and Mike lets out a small choked noise and covers Harvey's hands. "It's ok," Harvey says quietly, "Mike, its ok."

It takes a while, but Harvey finally gets the buttons undone and Mike's breathing almost heavily, his stomach muscles twitching and Harvey runs his fingers up the trail of hair to his navel, lays both palms flat against his skin and gently pushes the shirt open.

Its long, but surprisingly neat, darker than the rest of his skin, running in a curved line from the middle of his chest, under his left pectoral muscle, disappearing round behind his arm. The skin around it is tight, like it's stretched when he grew up and Harvey finds himself running a finger down it. Mike's breathing hitches and he closes his eyes.

"Mike...look at me," he says and Mike shakes his head, "Mike...for God sake would you look at me?" He does then, slowly opens his eyes and grimaces slightly, "you're not hideous," Mike snorts and shifts, tries to pull away from Harvey, but Harvey digs his fingers into Mike's arms and holds on tight, "you're not," he says again, more forceful this time, "I'm Harvey Specter, firstly I am never wrong, and secondly, do you think I would get involved with someone who didn't live up to certain standards of attractiveness?" he smirks slightly, raising an eyebrow and a tight smile plays at the corner of Mike's mouth.

"I guess not," he agrees quietly and Harvey lets his arms go to hold his face in his hands.

"Its part of who you are Mike, and I kinda of like who you are," he says simply, in an unnerving display of affection, and dips his head to press his lips to the top of the scar. Mike grips at Harvey's hair. Harvey is fully expecting a round of 'you like me, you really like me' in a sing song voice from Mike when he's feeling up to it and he's more than ok with that but right now he's sort of desperate to get his hands on Mike, to make Mike feel something other than hideous and self-conscious. "Can we get back to where we were outside because I'm kind of looking forward to seeing you naked?" Mike lets out a strangled noise that sound vaguely like he's terrified and Harvey holds on to him tighter as he feels Mike getting ready to push away again. "Listen kid," he says, using the tone that he uses at work, and it seems to do the trick because Mike stops struggling, "do you really think I would be trying to get into your pants if I didn't think you were as sexy as hell?"

"The bad stuff's easier to believe," Mike says quietly and Harvey raises an eyebrow.

"Don't quote _Pretty Woman_, its beneath you," he says and Mike chokes out a laugh, "I get it ok, you have this idea of what you should look like but let me tell you, from where I'm standing, you look..." he stops and Mike just stares at him, "hell, Mike...you look _good_. And if it takes me weeks to prove that to you, so be it, but right now I..." he stops and looks around him, "well first of all I want to get out of here because honestly, you actually live here?" he asks in disgust and Mike laughs again, "and secondly, I'd like..." Harvey doesn't manage to say what he'd like because Mike's mouth covers his and he pushes his tongue into Harvey's mouth, pressing him back against the door jamb.

"Who knew," Mike mutters in wonder as he pulls away enough to push his hand into Harvey's pants and Harvey has just enough brain cells left to form coherent words.

"Who knew what?" he asks, biting off a groan as Mike twists his hand.

"Harvey Specter cares," Mike says, kissing him again and Harvey pulls their hips together, stopping Mike's hand but he regains a few brain cells so its kind of a win.

"Don't you go telling anyone," he says against Mike's mouth and Mike smiles but there's still a hint of tension in him and his hand down Harvey's pants is like he's trying to take the focus off himself, "I mean it Mike..." he says and Mike quirks and eyebrow over a blue eye. Harvey shakes his head and wraps his fingers around Mike's wrist. "I mean..." he says, pulling Mike's hand from his pants and spinning them round so Mike's back is against the jamb, "that you look good...and that I am going to prove it to you," he runs his fingers gently over the scar again and Mike drags in a shaky breath, "you got that?"

"I got it."

"Good, now lets get out of here before I catch syphilis from the door handles."


End file.
